All told, Mayor Gavin Newsom today is to announce more than $68.5 million in new paving and streetscape projects, funded through borrowing and federal and state money.

Then there’s another $7.4 million from a regional grant to be used with city matching funds for projects that include the Marina Green bicycle trail, enlivening SOMA alleys and making pedestrian and plaza improvements at the 24th Street BART station in the Mission District.

The makeover for Cesar Chavez west of the Highway 101 interchange is designed to transform “a street that kind of runs right through the city and functions almost like a freeway,” Reiskin said.

“It’s unattractive and it doesn’t feel safe,” he said. The plan is to mimic what the city has done along six urban corridors, most recently Leland Avenue in Visitacion Valley, as part of the “Great Streets” program. Plants would be added to the median, trees along the roadway, sidewalks would be redone, “bulb outs” created to shorten the distance at crosswalks and other steps. Balboa Street and 19th Avenue are next on the list.

City officials are also to announce today that merchants, nonprofits, neighborhood groups and others will be able to apply to have a “parklet” installed under the popular program rolled out in February where parking spaces or other paved areas are converted into mini parks.

“This is all part of one narrative: 25 percent of the city is public rights of way, most of which are concrete and asphalt,” Reiskin said. “We’re trying to transform and take back those spaces so they serve all modes of traffic and people, not just cars that pass through.”